Just Gone
by Rising Sun et al
Summary: None Provided


The Challenge as presented at the Fan Fiction Challenge at   
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ffchallange/  
  
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Hi,  
  
I was a little bored so i sat down to write a completely different   
fic for a different fandom and this just happened. I think seeing   
the gorgeous pic of Jarod and that little baby was too much for me.   
Anyway, this is my second Pretender fic, and my first challenge so i   
hope it isn't too awful, but feel free to tell me if it is.  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine, they all belong to those other people, who's   
names i shall not mention out of intense anger at their dealings with   
fans regarding the ending of the series. Also really, the purpose of   
a disclaimer in a forum like the internet that promotes and maintains   
anonymity is laughable (sorry sometimes i can't contain the lawyer in   
me).  
  
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Title: Just Gone  
Author: Rose  
E-mail: rosenfairy@hotmail.com  
Acknowledgements: Thanks Mickey for the wonderful challenges,   
those two pics were so gorgeous i couldn't help but write about them.  
  
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He didn't know whether to be happy, or mad, disappointed or relieved,   
so many conflicting feeling's. So much pain and yet so much joy. It   
had started the moment he had found out, he'd been so scared, then   
happy, then mad, and then he just didn't know. She'd left, just gone   
and left, and it wasn't that he was mad she was gone, he was relieved   
for that, and happy she had finally found her freedom. It was the   
not knowing that hurt, was she gone because she was dead, or   
because she'd had enough and found her freedom, or maybe she was   
in danger and his anger towards her would be one final betrayal. That   
was why the conflicting thoughts, why the teetering emotions, why the   
pain and happiness mixing together into one unrecognizable and oh   
so empty void. She was gone, after years of being the dominant force   
in his world, a force that he feared, loved and fathered, a force he   
loved with all his being and wanted nothing more than happiness for.   
The young women, the ice queen, the little girl hidden in the body of a   
women and still fighting for recognition and love, his daughter figure   
gone. Miss Parker gone.   
  
"Syd, Sydney, Oh my god, you're never gonna believe it, it's……..   
Wow….. Oh my… Syd" Broots screamed as he came flying through   
the door to the lab, his agitated and obviously shocked actions breaking   
Sydney from his thoughts and bringing back to the all too confusing   
present.   
  
"Broots" he whispered, his voice conveying everything his mind was   
struggling with, his mind noting that the younger man's eyes bore the   
exact same haunted and confused look that he was sure his own   
did. "What am I not going to believe?" he asked, while silently   
wondering if this day could yield any more shocks. Hadn't it been   
enough that he had been informed on arriving that his boss was gone,   
just gone, no explanation, no details, and no emotion, just gone.  
  
"You remember the baby, Mr. Parker's Baby, the one Brigitte had   
before she died, the five month old in the nursery……. Syd, the baby,   
you know the baby?" Broots rambled on, his panicked, excited voice   
permeating the cloudiness of Sydney's head and causing him to   
respond in a manner much like his `former' boss would have.  
  
"Today, Broots, if you start the sentence, finish it too." The   
wounded look displayed on the younger man's face instantly making   
him regret his words. After all, he reminded himself, Miss Parker's own   
twin might not give a damn about her being missing. Her own father   
cared not for her safety, but was simply angry she had managed to   
escape his surveillance and had spent the morning demanding   
upgrades and searches, no he reminded himself, just because they didn't care   
it didn't mean others at the centre weren't sharing his thoughts.   
  
"Sorry" he whispered, while motioning with his hands for Broots to   
continue. Broots merely nodded his head in forgiveness, his eyes   
conveying his understanding of the feelings of complete helplessness   
and confusion.  
  
"He's gone" His voice was merely a whisper for this last part, the   
implications of it all weighing heavily in the air. The baby was   
gone, on the same day, as the woman who delivered him, the same   
day as the only person who had ever seemed to give a damn about the   
poor little boy. Suddenly Sydney's fear evaporated, all but replaced by   
an overwhelming sense of joy, it was obvious now, that last gift from   
Jarod, the last e-mail he had sent, the one detailing what the boy   
was to be used for, had sent her over the edge. The little girl he   
had always thought of as his own was finally free granted, on the run   
and being hunted but free. She had taken the one thing she felt she   
could save, she had finally proven she was her Mother's little girl   
by doing what her mother had died trying to do, save the children,   
not all of them, but the only one she could.   
  
"You ok Syd?" Broots voice broke into his head once again and he   
turned to him, his face breaking into a rare grin as he whispered.  
  
"Yeah, I think I finally am"  
  
******************************************************  
  
One Month Later  
  
Syd was sitting quietly in his office, struggling through one final   
research piece before leaving for the weekend. It was always quiet   
now, Broots had left, much like Miss Parker, he and his little girl   
had simply vanished one night. Unlike Parker though Broots had left   
a note in his box, telling him why, telling him exactly how much he   
meant to the two of them, and stating that he hoped they would meet   
again soon. The note had hinted that Miss Parker had helped in the   
escape and that one would be coming for him soon through a   
suggestion that he coax Angelo into believing the outside world could be fun.   
They knew he would never leave without Angelo. Angelo however   
had been ahead of him, he had simply popped in one day and told Sydney   
that `soon' `soon, he, they, leave the bad place'. But Sydney   
doubted he could now, he had to stay even if he was off the chase, he   
had to stay and wait for word, wait to hear that Jarod was ok. The   
Pretender had disappeared, not long after Parker, Sydney could only   
hope that it was because the two were together, but he couldn't know   
for sure, and couldn't leave till he knew the man he thought of as a   
son was safe.   
  
"Sydney" Sam's voice broke through his thoughts and made him turn   
his head towards the doorway. "This came for you" the sweeper   
continued gruffly, walking over to the desk he placed a plain white envelope on   
the doctor's desk and left.  
  
Glancing down at the letter Sydney's breath caught in his throat, the   
writing… so familiar, so comforting. It was Parker's, she was safe   
and obviously ready to make contact, that one glance lifted the   
weight of the world from his shoulder's and he hurriedly set to   
opening it. Inside he found several pieces of paper, each numbered   
to ensure he read them in the correct order. The first he picked up,   
unfolded and began to read.  
  
**Syd,  
I never meant to hurt you by leaving without saying goodbye, please   
believe that, but when the time came I was given little options. The   
crux of it is, Baby Parker was not my brother, but my son. When I   
found out I was offered two, run with my little boy and gain the   
family I always dreamed of with him and his father, or simply pretend   
I never knew and watch him grow up separate from me. When you   
open the second package, I think you'll see I made the right choice.  
Miss Parker.**  
  
Putting the letter aside he picked up the package numbered two and   
quickly opened it. It was photo, and as he turned it over to see the   
picture, his eyes widened in shock, while simultaneously filling with   
tears of happiness and pride. Miss Parker was absent form the   
picture, but he guessed she was the photographer, the picture exuded   
motherly pride. It was a beautiful shot, a photo of a gorgeous   
little boy obviously master Parker, the little boy now revealed to be   
Parker's son, and holding him, looking at him with a incredible joy   
and pride was Jarod. His pretender, the boy he had considered a   
son, a father, joined in parenthood with the women he considered his   
little girl.  
  
Placing the photo aside with the letter he turned to package number   
three, his mind reeling with thoughts of what joyous news it might   
behold. It was another picture, a picture sitting on the cover of a   
card, a picture bearing the smiling, loving faces of his children,   
the two he had always known belonged together. Here they were   
holding each other, Miss Parker smiling out toward the camera, her   
hand placed on Jarod's chest, while his arms wrapped around her   
waist. His face was half turned to camera, half looking at her, his   
smile, filled with joy and yet also cocky and vaguely reminiscent of   
the `cat that got the cream'. Which he imagine had something to do   
with the large diamond ring displayed on the ring finger of the woman   
he held.  
  
Opening the card, he found the following words.   
  
**You told me I could do anything Syd, but asking Parker to marry me,   
that was almost beyond me, I think I tried a thousand times before I   
finally found the nerve to do it. I lost the ring and found it   
in.........my pocket several times, but she said yes, She said YES,   
I'm a father Syd, about to be a husband. Angelo knows what to do   
Sydney, he will get you away from there and to us as soon as he can,   
we won't be married without you, after all Parker needs someone to   
give her away, doesn't she.  
  
Can't wait to see you,  
  
We both miss you and hope you will be here soon.  
Jarod.**  
  
As he placed this note on the pile and began to gather his belongings   
together, Sydney remembered a time not long ago when faced with a   
similar feeling of happiness, the look on his face had prompted a   
question.  
  
"You ok Syd?" Broots voice broke into his head, once more, but as   
memory this time. And this time, the answer was the same, but this   
time, he knew nothing would ever change it again.  
  
"Yeah, I think I finally am"  
  
=====================================================  
  
The Challenge as presented at the Fan Fiction Challenge at   
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ffchallange/  
  
Mickey's Latest Pretender Challenge (Baby Challenge):  
I have a new challenge for all you Pretender fans. This one is   
REALLY simple. Write a story surrounding this picture. The events   
don't have to lead up to when this picture, but either this picture has to   
be somehow   
mentioned or there has to be an event where this picture gets taken.   
  
?Whose baby is this?   
?Is it Jarod's baby?   
?If yes whose the mother?   
?Is it Parker?   
?If it's his & Parker's how did this come about?   
?What's the baby's name?   
?How old is the baby?   
?Does the Centre know Jarod has a baby?   
?Is the Cenre still up & running? 


End file.
